The overall technical design of railway projects (FEED design) must meet the requirements specified in the approved design assignment and be consistent with the contents of the approved investment policy (if any).
The Government has just issued Decree No. 67/2026/NĐ-CP, which stipulates detailed provisions and implementation measures for the overall technical design of investment projects for national railway lines and local railway lines. The specific contents include: FEED design tasks; requirements and specifications of FEED design; construction design implementation following FEED design, etc.
According to this Decree, the overall technical design (FEED design) is a design stage prepared in accordance with international practice for projects involving technological design, in order to specify requirements regarding technological solutions, technical parameters of major equipment and materials used, and construction solutions to implement the subsequent design stage.
Tasks for Preparing FEED Design
According to the Decree, the FEED design task shall be prepared by the project preparation agency or by hiring a consulting organization with sufficient capacity and qualifications. The design task must be consistent with the construction investment policy (if any) and serves as the basis for preparing the FEED design.
The design task includes the following main contents:
- Bases for preparing the construction design task;
- Objectives and location of the construction project;
- Requirements regarding scale, functions of use, criteria for proposing applicable standards, planning, landscape, and architecture of the project;
- Technical requirements for technological solutions of equipment systems, vehicles, construction works, and other technical requirements;
- Requirements on costs, orientation of measures, overall construction plan, and project risk management;
- Requirements for connection plans and interfaces between project components and equipment systems (hereinafter referred to as system interfaces); connection plans between the railway system and surrounding areas; assessment of impacts on existing works;
- Requirements for railway system safety;
- Requirements for organizational plans and procedures for operation, exploitation, maintenance, and servicing of the works;
- Requirements and instructions for preparing construction design implemented after FEED design and orientations and instructions for construction, supervision, and acceptance (hereinafter collectively referred to as FEED design technical instructions);
- Requirements regarding the level of information need in the BIM model of the project;
- Other necessary project requirements.
North-South railway line
Requirements and Specifications of FEED Design:
- FEED design must satisfy the requirements stated in the approved design task and be consistent with the contents of the approved investment policy (if any).
- FEED design must comply with technical regulations, selected applicable standards, and regulations on the use of construction materials; ensure safety in construction, installation, and use; and meet requirements on environmental protection, occupational safety, climate change response, fire prevention and fighting, and other safety conditions.
- The design solution must include comparison and evaluation of several studied and proposed alternatives to ensure feasibility and effectiveness.
- The content of FEED design must present the overall structure of the railway system and system interfaces; identify key information, parameters, dimensions, and main materials of works, major work items, vehicle systems, and equipment of the project; provide sufficient basis for determining the total investment, estimating bid packages, and preparing the subsequent construction design stage after FEED design.
- The BIM model accompanying the FEED design must meet the requirements for the level of information needs in accordance with the consulting contract for preparing the construction investment feasibility study report, using the native format together with an open format.
- The specifications for FEED design documentation are stipulated as follows:
- FEED design documentation shall be prepared for each work and includes design explanations, design drawings, FEED design technical instructions, and related documents;
- FEED design drawings must have appropriate size and title block; the title block of each drawing must contain the name and signature of the direct designer, design checker, design leader, and chief designer; and must be signed and stamped for confirmation by the project preparation consultant and the FEED design consultant;
- The format of FEED design documentation shall be implemented in accordance with the contract signed between the project preparation consultant and the investor, and must ensure long-term accessibility and preservation.
Construction Design Implemented After FEED Design
The Decree stipulates that for projects where FEED design is prepared in place of the basic design in the construction investment feasibility study report, the construction design implemented after FEED design is the construction drawing design stage or detailed design stage according to international practice, ensuring sufficient conditions for implementing construction works.
Construction design implemented after FEED design may be prepared for each part of the work, bid package, or the entire work and must meet the following requirements:
- Be consistent with the approved construction investment project contents;
- Be consistent with the approved FEED design;
- Comply with technical regulations, applicable standards, and legal provisions on the use of construction materials; meet requirements for functionality of use and applied technology (if any); ensure structural safety, safety in use, aesthetics, environmental protection, climate change response, fire prevention and fighting, and other safety conditions;
- Have appropriate design solutions and reasonable construction costs; ensure synchronization within each work and with related works; ensure conditions of comfort, hygiene, and health for users; facilitate use by persons with disabilities, the elderly, and children; exploit advantages and limit adverse impacts of natural conditions; prioritize the use of local materials and environmentally friendly materials.
- During the preparation of construction design implemented after FEED design, the investor may decide to change certain contents to meet efficiency and usage requirements in cases where such changes do not lead to the need to adjust the project in accordance with regulations, while ensuring requirements for quality management and safety in construction and installation as specified in the FEED design.
Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway line
Contents of Appraisal for Construction Design Implemented After FEED Design:
- Compliance with the requirements of the design task.
- Assessment of the conformity of the construction design with the FEED design in the approved feasibility study report.
- Examination of the verification results of consulting organizations regarding compliance with technical regulations, applicable standards, and legal provisions on the use of construction materials; and compliance with requirements on safety of the works, neighboring works, and fire prevention and fighting safety.
- Consistency between the main quantities of the estimate and the design quantities; conformity between the construction estimate value and the total construction investment value; determination of the construction estimate value.
- Assessment of the capacity conditions of organizations and individuals performing surveys, design, and construction cost estimation in accordance with regulations.
The Decree clearly states that the preparation, appraisal, and approval of construction design implemented after FEED design must ensure publicity and transparency, and comply with regulations on anti-corruption, waste prevention, and prevention of negative practices.
The preparation, appraisal, and approval of construction design implemented after FEED design may be carried out for all works, each work of the project, or each part of the work according to construction phases as required by the investor, but must ensure consistency and synchronization in content and calculation bases between phases and the appraised and approved FEED design.
In cases where the construction investment project or the construction design implemented after FEED design is adjusted, the preparation, appraisal, and approval shall be carried out for the adjusted contents or for the entire contents of the project or the construction design implemented after FEED design.
VPDAĐS-TECCO1